Yeremia 12:11

12:11 They will lay it waste.

It will lie parched ¹  and empty before me.

The whole land will be laid waste.

But no one living in it will pay any heed. ² 

Yeremia 1:18

1:18 I, the Lord, ³  hereby promise to make you ⁴  as strong as a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall. You will be able to stand up against all who live in ⁵  the land, including the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and all the people of the land.

Yeremia 38:16

38:16 So King Zedekiah made a secret promise to Jeremiah and sealed it with an oath. He promised, ⁶  “As surely as the Lord lives who has given us life and breath, ⁷  I promise you this: I will not kill you or hand you over to those men who want to kill you.” ⁸ 

[12:11]  ¹ tn For the use of this verb see the notes on 12:4. Some understand the homonym here meaning “it [the desolated land] will mourn to me.” However, the only other use of the preposition עַל (’al) with this root means “to mourn over” not “to” (cf. Hos 10:5). For the use of the preposition here see BDB 753 s.v. עַל II.1.b and compare the use in Gen 48:7.

[12:11]  ² tn Heb “But there is no man laying it to heart.” For the idiom here see BDB 525 s.v. לֵב II.3.d and compare the usage in Isa 42:25; 47:7.

[12:11]  sn There is a very interesting play on words and sounds in this verse that paints a picture of desolation and the pathos it evokes. Part of this is reflected in the translation. The same Hebrew word referring to a desolation or a waste (שְׁמֵמָה, shÿmemah) is repeated three times at the end of three successive lines and the related verb is found at the beginning of the fourth (נָשַׁמָּה, nashammah). A similar sounding word is found in the second of the three successive lines (שָׁמָהּ, shamah = “he [they] will make it”). This latter word is part of a further play because it is repeated in a different form in the last line (שָׁם, sham = “laying”); they lay it waste but no one lays it to heart. There is also an interesting contrast between the sorrow the Lord feels and the inattention of the people.

[1:18]  ³ tn See the note on “Jeremiah” at the beginning of v. 17.

[1:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “today I have made you.” The Hebrew verb form here emphasizes the certainty of a yet future act; the Lord is promising to protect Jeremiah from any future attacks which may result from his faithfully carrying out his commission. See a similar use of the same Hebrew verb tense in v. 9, and see the translator’s note there.

[1:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “I make you a fortified city…against all the land….” The words “as strong as” and “so you will be able to stand against all the people of…” are given to clarify the meaning of the metaphor.

[38:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “So King Zedekiah secretly swore an oath to Jeremiah, saying.”

[38:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “who has made this life/soul/ breath [נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh] for us.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ refers to the living, breathing substance of a person which constitutes his very life (cf. BDB 659 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 1; 3).

[38:16]  ⁸ tn Heb “who are seeking your life.”